Beginning of the End
by IfLovingWasACrime
Summary: Picks up where Lady Midnight left off and is currently in progress. If you love Emma and Julian as a couple or Emma and Mark or just Emma, this has all of that. If not, move along.
1. Chapter 1

"The storm calls you as it calls me, does it not?" he held out his hand to her, half beckoning, half offering.

"Why lie?" he said. Emma remained where she was and Mark took a step towards her. Then Emma was on her feet and she was staring into Mark's eyes and for the first time rather than feeling as though the eyes of the hunt were unbalanced, Emma saw them as they truly were. Gold and blue, fire and ice, ying and yang.

"Mark you don't have to-" Emma began but he used his grip on her hand to yank her closer. There was so little space between them. Between their mouths. Mark had nice lips but his smile could be cruel in a way Julian's never would. Julian. God, why was she in such a position? Her only option to protect him was to hurt him. And this would destroy him. Centimeters away were Marks lips but Emma's mind was on the beach and Julian's studio. And then Marks lips were Julian's lips and they were against hers.

"Would you say the Institute is like Hogwarts?" Emma was lying on her back next to Mark on the roof of the Los Angeles Institute. Her golden hair was in two loose braids and she was in pajama pants and a tank top that said 'I BITE' across the stomach. Mark didn't understand her wardrobe or her question in the slightest.

"By the angel Emma, what on Earth are you talking about?"

"Hogwarts, as in Harry Potter."

"Who?"

"The boy who lived, the chosen one…." Emma was looking at Mark with wide eyes and raised eyebrows. "You should at least watch the movies, Drew loves them."

"I'll add it to the list" Mark said and then he propped himself up on his elbows and turned toward Emma. She looked up at him. She was gorgeous as always and the fairies always had an appreciation for all things with beauty. But Emma was more than beauty. She had a wildness to her and Mark could imagine her riding with the wild hunt. She would become one with the sky and thrive in the chaos of every storm.

"What list?" It was Emma's turn to be confused.

"Nothing," Mark said and then he bent his head down and kissed her. It was a light kiss, a sweet nothing. Mark didn't mind this shrade with Emma. It took his mind off of Kiren and Cristina. Mark hadn't seen Kiren since their goodbye and Cristina was back together with Mr. Hot and Sexy, also known as 'Perfect Diego.'

"Do you really have a list?" Emma asked as she propped herself up on her elbows to be level with Mark.

"Does it matter?" It was a fairy way to answer a question but Mark couldn't help it. Although he no longer spoke as the fairies do he still had their vocabulary in the back of his mind, ever present just like Cristina.

"I suppose not." Emma sighed and dropped back onto her back. She was watching the sky and the trees as they swayed. Mark decided to drop back onto his back as well and they stayed there for some time in a comfortable silence.

"Thank-you," Emma said and although Mark knew the answer already he turned onto his side and asked her "What for?"

"Everything."

Julian stood staring at Emma. Emma chasing Octavian, Emma wielding Cortana, Emma descending the steps of the Institute in a flowing ivory dress, and Emma emerging from the ocean with her golden hair whipping around her like a halo. All of his paintings, drawings and sketches of Emma stared back at him. Then, he saw Emma in Mark's arms, Emma's hair tangled in Mark's fingers, Mark's face when he casually mentioned he had kissed Emma. That he thought they were falling in love. Emma's face when she told him he wasn't enough. That she didn't love him enough. He needed to get out of there. Out of his studio that was once his refuge and was now a reminder of why he was hurting. Not that he needed a reminder of why he woke up in a cold sweat and found himself standing in front of Emma's bedroom door at night staring at the door knob but never turning it. Julian couldn't paint or draw anything without Emma burning inside his eyelids.

"Julian?" It was Drew, having ventured near Julian's studio without him noticing. Quickly, he left his private part of his studio, the part that was Emma, and locked the door. He was just hiding the key when Drew stepped into Julian's main studio and noticed him.

"It's time for dinner. We've all been in the library all day and Tavvy just had a tantrum because Ty told him there are little bugs all over his body." That's why Drew was here. She was tattling.

"Okay." Julian said because that's what he was supposed to say. "Let's go make some dinner and then I'll go talk to Ty."

"Mark already told Ty off and then Ty started saying something about the rights of the accused and then he went and sat outside of Kit's door. He won't move." Through all of that, Drew didn't take a single breath which was quite a feat considering what a run-on sentence that was. Julian would have to talk to Diana about a grammar review sometime in the near future.

"Is there anything else I should know about?" Julian asked just to be safe.

"Christina started teaching Livvy Spanish." Drew said thoughtfully and then added, "Mark and Emma are on the roof again." Julian clenched his jaw and tightened his hand into a fist. Emma.


	2. Chapter 2

The waves crashed against the shore. Over and over. Relentless and unforgiving. Julian found if both cruel and inspiring that the ocean kept going. It had seen so much, and yet it never changed. Yet, the ocean served as a constant reminder of Emma and for that it was cruel. Drew and Tavvy were sticking close to Julian in account of what had happened last time they were at the beach alone but the rest of the Blackthorne bunch ,except Ty who had stayed home, had run to splash around in the ocean. Christina and Emma had gone off on some mission and would be gone for the day. Diana hadn't shown up for lessons and she'd later messaged Julian to let him know they had the day off and that she would be at the Institute tomorrow. So Julian had packed up the kids for the day, given Kits breakfast to Kit as was now usual and gone to the beach.

"Can we make a sand castle?" Tavvy asked looking up at Julian.

"Sure, take this cup and get me some wet sand. Drew, why don't you go shell hunting?" Both Drew and Tavvy looked at Julien for a couple seconds and then they scampered to the water's edge with the others. Once they returned with their loot, Julien went to work working with Tavvy and Drew to make a masterpiece of a sandcastle. Just as they were artfully placing the seashells Drew had collected, Julian heard Liv yell something. Julien looked up and saw Ty and a boy walking towards them. Julien watched as they arrived but they didn't seem very threatening so he stayed where he was while the rest of the kids gathered behind him.

" Kit?" Julian asked, finally recognizing the boy walking with his brother. The boys shrugged in unison and sat down in the sand. Kit had changed somehow since the day his father had died but Julian supposed that was normal.

"These are perfect for skipping." Livvy said picking up some of the rocks Drew had brought with the seashells and just like that Livvy and Mark were skipping rocks, I went back to the sand castle and Kit and Ty were sitting next to each other in silence, looking at the horizon. We stayed like that for the day, we ate lunch on the beach and when everyone got hungry for dinner we packed up and headed back to the Institute. When we got there Christina was putting runes on Emma and there was blood stained clothes everywhere. So much for a day off.

…..

Emma didn't mean for things to go so badly. It was supposed to be just a routine day in the field. There had been unusual levels of demonic activity just a 30 minute drive away so she grabbed Christina and together they went to check it out. The car drive was pleasant enough, Christina drove and Emma hung her head out the window like a dog. Emma could sense that Christina was upset about something but when she started to ask Christina put her hand up to signal that she didn't want to talk about it and Emma didn't bring it up again. Their destination turned out to be a rather large house. There was a strong summer breeze in the air and the place seemed eerily silent. Christina pulled out her radar and nodded her head.

"This is the place," she said and then set off with Emma by her side with Cortana. After a few knocks, Emma got impatient so she backed up and then charged the door with a good round-house kick, knocking it open.

"Great Emma, now if there are any demons here we've lost any element of surprise. Where is your stealth?" Christina asked. Emma shrugged, unapologetic

"You were the one knocking," Emma said and Christina scoffed but continued into the house with her friend. The interior of the house had a rustic feel to it with the brick accent walls and a kitchen like the one in the Pioneer Woman TV cooking show. This was odd for a house just outside LA but not as odd as the bodies. There was one in a chair in the dining room, a white table in the middle of a room, 5 places set with delicate china and silverware and a middle aged man sitting lifeless in the seat at the head of the table. After a quick search of the house, Emma found a lifeless woman sitting in a large yellow chair in the corner of what Emma supposed was the bedroom. Both bodies had holes in their chests where it looked somebody had ripped out their hearts, right from their body. This was something some rogue werewolves would do during their transitions, often to their own family members. They wouldn't know how to control the overwhelming transition and they would tear people apart. Some would take a specific organ fro the body, in this case the heart. What didn't make sense was the demonic activity levels in the house.

"Tina-" Emma began but Christina cut her off.

"I know, it doesn't make any sense. These just look like normal people and why is there demonic activity here but no demons?"

"The followers looked like normal people," Emma said and Christina shook her head.

"The followers are gone, Emma and so is Malcolm."

"Not for sure, not if we haven't found his body. Not until there's proof can we be sure." Emma said even though the Clave had told her not to worry. That Malcolm was gone. That they were safe. Emma had heard that before, when the Clave had tried to pin her parent's deaths of Sebastian Christina called in the Clave and they portaled in. Silent Brothers went about their work and after giving their statement, Christina and Emma were released so they began the drive home. Emma decided to keep her head inside the car this time and instead she busied herself with adding runes onto her thigh.

"You really should let me of Julian do that, you know," Christina said, glancing away from the road to observe Emma start an agility rune directly on her knee cap. Emma rolled her eyes and continued her work.

"Keep your eyes on the road Tina," Emma said playfully but then there was motion in the rear- view mirror and then they were airborne and spinning and Emma was screaming and Christina was screaming and then it all stopped. Emma was being held upside down by her seatbelt and Christina was unconscious. There was blood on her forehead and Emma kept screaming at Christina to wake up. The car wouldn't hold upside down for too long, they had to get out of there immediately. Emma undid her seatbelt and fell onto the roof of the car. There wasn't enough room to take out Cortana in the small space so Emma left it on her back and unbuckled Christina.

"Christina! You need to wake up-NOW," Emma pleaded. She couldn't get both of them out of there without Christina's help. Christina groaned but stayed unconscious. In one fluent motion, Emma kicked the already partly smashed window the rest of the way open on Christina's side. Then, she pushed Christina over the broken glass and out of the car while she wormed out herself. Once Christina was completely out of the car and so was Emma, except for her right leg that was stuck inside of Christina's seat belt. The car began to cave under it's own weight and it collapsed as Emma attempted to free her leg of the tangles seat belt. Emma shrieked in pain but managed to free her leg before it was completely crushed. The wound was on her thigh, right where she had been ruining in the car. Tenderly, Emma got to her feet. She used one of Christina's butterfly knives to cut the hem of her shirt and tie the fabric around her leg above the wound to stop the bleeding. Considering she had lost her stele somewhere, Emma figured there would be no healing runes until she got...where? She couldn't leave Christina, that wouldn't be an option, so it was the Institute or the house they'd just left where the Clave would still be. Emma was sweating and the temperature felt like 200 degrees. Tenderly, Emma tested her leg. It hurt like hell but she had taken a whipping from Faeries once, she could handle this. With a weak leg and a body heat of about 1,000 degrees, Emma couldn't imagine carrying Christina to the Institute, and she really didn't want to go back to that house. So she took Christina by the arm and pulled her arm over her own shoulders. Once standing, Emma grunted in pain every step but she carried Christina and fell into a rhythm that soon made the pain numb. Emma began a chant in her head. Left foot, right foot, Christina, Left foot, Right foot, Christina. And maybe 5 hours had gone by or 30 minutes but Emma got Christina back to the Institute. Then she took Christina's gear off leaving her with the tank top and shorts she had underneath. After cleaning Christina's forehead wound and the blood from her hair, Emma stripped herself of gear and ruined herself and Christina with a stele she found in the emergency drawer in the kitchen. Then, too weary to go up the steps, Emma placed herself and Christina on the couch and she passed out alongside her friend. When she awoke some time later, Christina was very disoriented and frowning at Emma. Emma explained the general idea of what had happened and Christina insisted on adding more runes to Emma's skin and redressing Emma's right leg that still hurt really bad, like insanely bad. That was when Julian, Drew, Tavvy, Liv, Mark, Ty, and Kit got home.

"Hey guys," Emma chirped upon noticing their arrival and seeing their stares of horror, "We're all good here, just a fender bender."

"What happened?" Julian asked and the concern in his voice made Emma's heart ache more than her leg.

"We were in an accident." Christina said, voice calm. She was on the phone with the Clave for the second time in one day, explaining what had happened and how we would be needing a new car.

"I can see that, but what happened?" Julian looked between Christina and Emma as he spoke but his gaze landed on Emma.

"Kit?" Emma asked, looking at the young boy in astonishment. "Let's fill everyone in over dinner, I'm starved," Emma continued "But I would like to clean up first. How about a reconvene in ten?" Everybody nodded along and reluctantly. Julian agreed too.

"Okay, everybody change out of your beach clothes and into pj's. Everyone's had a long day so after dinner, I'm calling a lights out." Julian said and everyone obliged because that was the way it was. Julian making dinner, deciding bedtime and what to do when they had a day off. Julian looked up to find Emma's eyes on him and he held them until he turned into the kitchen to get started on dinner.


	3. Chapter 3

It was dark. Cold. The pain was numbing and the thought occurred that this could be the end. Is this what death is like? To feel life drain from your body, watch your arms become lifeless, hear a loud silence, and to flow into the earth. Into the warmth. Into the dark.

Waking up was hell. Kiran had never wished to undo something as bad as waking up. Except something he felt guilty about. But what? Kiran's mind went blank. And where was he? The dark was gone and replaced with a gloomy light. Kiran was in the earth, surrounded by dirt, but no...there was light. Why was there light in the earth? Why was it so hard to move? Why was it so hard to remember…

…

…

...anything? He knew who he was but why was he here? Where is here?

"Kiran?" a voice, a scared voice. A voice Kiran knew. One he loved. But who? M. M. M. Over and over, Kiran thought. Something M. Mary? Martian? Mark? Mark. MARK!

"Mark!" Kiran screamed. Where was Mark? Where was he? Did it matter? Who was Mark? What does he look like? Does it matter? Moving was hard. Thinking was hard. Does it matter? The earth was hungry and was swallowing him whole. Moving was impossible. Breathing was impossible. Does it matter?

"Mark," a whisper now. A release of breath.

Sharp pain across his face. Kiran shot up. Faces all around him.

" He's awake." Monotone, a voice of no emotion.

"Who-" Kiran began but was immediately interrupted by the voice giving orders.

"Rise, Kiran of the Wild Hunt, Prince of the Unseelie Court, and face your fate."

…..

Sitting at Kit's door was frustrating at first. Why wouldn't he come out? Why wouldn't he want to meet the Blackthornes? Didn't he know that they too had lost their father, that Ty could help him if he would only come outside of his damn room? But after a while, it became soothing to remain in his post outside Kit's door. Soon, it was part of the routine. Wake up, knock on Kit's door, get breakfast, bring some to the door and leave it outside the door. Ty had learned that if you stay at the door, Kit won't get his food. This would be fine except Ty felt guilty for what had happened to Kit's father and didn't want anything bad to happen to Kit. So Ty would leave, go to class and then come back to find the dishes from breakfast stacked neatly outside of Kit's door. Liv took care of Kit's lunch and they took turns delivering his dinner. Ever since Kit had arrived, this had been the routine, three times a day seven days a week. Therefore, it is no surprise that when Kit finally emerged from his room, Ty was dumbstruck. Kit was just sitting there, outside of his room, one leg folded over the other and reading a copy of the Shadowhunter Codex.

"Hello?" Ty asked after a considerable amount of gaping.

Looking up, Kit attempted a smile that turned out more like a grimace. "Hello," he said, overly casual as though this happened all the time. Ty only then realized that his hands were fluttering like they do whenever he is nervous or upset. Sticking his hands in his pockets to hide their movement, Ty remembered that he had planned on going to the library and he hated to abandon his plans. So he did the only thing he could.

"I'm going to the library now. You can come if you want." Kit raised an eyebrow, but he nodded and got up and followed Ty down the hallway.

"Where did you get the codex?" Ty asked while they walked to the Institute's library.

"It was in the top drawer of my dresser. I finally got curious to start reading it last week. I'm going through if for the fourth time now. Ty wanted to know why Kit had left his room but he didn't want to bring it up and risk Kit going back in. Besides, if Kit wanted to talk about it he would bring it up. They continued walking in comfortable silence and upon arriving at the library, they split up. Ty went to reading on the illicit computer and Kit began wandering the shelves, flipping through books seemingly at random. They settled into a rhythm. Ty liked the way they didn't need to talk, they could just get familiar with each other first. About an hour before dinner, Kit went back to his room and didn't come out until Ty stopped by the next day. Every day, they would go somewhere new in the Institute, always where nobody else would be. Ty didn't tell anyone about his time with Kit for fear of Kit going back into hiding. Finally, after a few days, Kit decided that he was ready to meet the Blackthornes. So, after Ty's classes, they walked onto the beach together. And everything was good, the two of them spent the whole day on the beach, they ate the sandwiches that Julian had packed and watched the sun go down. It was a really great day until they discovered Emma and Christina, bruised and bloodied, waiting for them at home.


	4. Chapter 4

Diego P.O.V

He would not tell anyone. They had no right to know anyway. What had the Blackthornes ever done for him? They're required to aid him according to Clave laws. He is not required to devulge Clave secrets to them just because it involves their blood. That is the real test today. After examinations, Diego has orders to discreetly get a blood sample from each one of the Blackthornes. The Clave is then going to test for Seelie DNA traces. Who knows what they'll do if they find some? But what could Diego do? Unless...

Emma P.O.V.

Examinations day. Emma had seen war, even been the middle of one. She had fought countless demons, a crazy warlock and found her parents killer. But does any of that really matter to the Clave? No. You know what does matter though? Examinations within the Institute. Emma knew to be on guard, they would likely attempt to catch everyone by surprise. This is why Emma was not in the slightest surprised when she went for her morning run and was attacked. Her attacker came from behind, their arms wrapped around Emma's neck. She pushed back and jabbed her elbow into the attacker's' chest. They were male and a shadowhunter from the runes she glimpsed on his skin. Spinning around, Emma stepped hard on her attackers foot and landed a good punch on his throat. He grabbed her wrist and pulled. Emma was thrown several feet and landed on her back. That's when she went for Cortana, a few feet away on the ground. Her attacker must have taken it from its sheath when he attempted strangulation. Unlucky for him, Julian had done her runes the night before and they were still glowing with extra power. She was no longer feeling unnerved by their power, just afraid of what happens when they get worse. Grabbing Cortana, Emma raised the blade above her head. Her attacker, an unidentified shadowhunter, charged for her. Swinging hard Emma hit him with the butt of the sword with so much force that he toppled over. Wasting no time, Emma pounced him and held the blade to his throat.

"Explain yourself," Emma demanded. Her attacker smirked. He literally smirked. Then he grabbed a steele from his boot and ignited a rune. Suddenly his face changed completely.

"Julian?" Julian just layed there smirking.

"Good morning Emma. Just getting you warmed up for examinations."

"You little - you're unbelievable. What if I had really hurt you?" Emma pounded on Julian's chest and then realised that she was still on top of him. She promptly stood.

"Oh come on. A serious wound would have gotten me out of exams. It would have been a kindness, really." Julian was light, happier than Emma had seen him in a long time. It felt like they were kids again, their biggest worry being a big bad Clave test. Julian stood and started to brush himself off.

"Anyway, we should head back and - " Emma cut him off with a barrel run tackle. He shoved back and suddenly they were on the ground again. They grappled for a while. Then, Emma had hold of Julian's arm and yanked him off of her, over to her right. He grabbed her legs and dragged her over to him. They both took a minute to catch their breath. Then they started laughing. It was a hysterical, all consuming laughter that left Julian flushed. They were covered in dirt. There was a large smudge on Julian's neck. On his forehead a bruise was forming from where Emma had hit him earlier. She just kept staring at that bruise. No matter what she kept hurting him. Julian tucked a piece of hair behind Emma's ear. It was in a ponytail that now sagged to the base of Emma's neck. She loved Julian's hand on her face. It was warm and soft, just like him. She touched his cheek and admired him. He really is so beautiful. No, this is bad. This is dangerous. But he is looking at her with so much hope.

"Emma? Julian? You guys are going to be late for exams!" Christina yelled. She likes to take the same running route sometimes and came up from behind them on the path. Emma and Julian both shot up, stood a few steps apart. As Emma tried to shake off the moment before, she resheathed Cortana.

"Save the sparring for the Clave you two. They're portaling in in about twenty minutes." Christina pretended not to notice the obvious awkwardness. Thank god it was Christina and not anyone else.

"Who is that running over there?" Julian pointed down the street. Sure enough, there was someone running towards them.

"Perfect Diego. I better hurry up then." Christina started running again. Emma fell into step next to her.

"Why? Is there something going on there?"

"Not really. We had a fight." Christina focused on the road in front of her as she spoke.

"Like a FIGHT fight or just a fight?"

"Well I know that he came here for me but I can't go back with him. He just doesn't understand. This is my home now." Christina looked over at Emma then. Emma gave her a sympathetic smile.

"Then make him understand. If anyone can, it's you."

"Thanks," Christina said but she didn't look any less stressed than before.

"On that note, let's go crush these tests, shall we?" Julian said, speeding from behind them to the door of the Institute.


End file.
